A rare moment of Alf deigning to sit next to Wilf of his own volition.

Their newfound amicability lasted about as long as it took us upset the balance again by throwing another cat into the mix.

So by weird coincidence, Elaine and I just happened to end up in American diner, neither of us realising…

…that it was actually Independence Day!

Which, lest any of you forget, is also Alf’s birthday. He turned 5 this year!

New balls, please: Minerva doing her part to celebrate the first British male Wimbledon champion in 77 years. For our part, John and I got wasted on prosecco and strawberries which is, I think, as classy and British a way as any.

(I confess that I was actually pretty excited about the banana plants.)

And, at Gemma’s insistence, a quick pit stop at the Build-A-Bear Workshop, where you can buy a standard teddy bear for £20 then spend 40 times that amount accessorising it. You could literally buy yourself an outfit for less than it costs to dress these bears.

Cookie Monster cupcake. Adorable.

Alf, by the way, has definitely warmed to his new sister.

Tragically, this means that he’s now loved every one of his siblings except Wilfred.

Merchant City Festival.

John and I went to Merchant Square recently for pies in a Beer Cafe. Just take that in for a minute.

A vision of grace and poise.

Co-opting Wilf’s sofa.

Colin and Kim came through in August for the first look at their finished wedding photos. Thankfully for all parties, they were very happy with my work and our 16-year friendship remains intact, haha.

Oh, Alf.

She learned from the best.

Exhibit A.

Wilfred and Minerva are pretty much on the opposite ends of the feline spectrum: Mini looks like a wildcat and Wilf looks like a Jim Henson puppet.

We offer a particularly upscale hotel service – Persians on the pillow every night.